Benjamin ("Ben") Jones
LinkedIn Copy
Hey Ben — similar-ish path (exited founder → PE / acquisitions). been thinking a lot about proprietary origination in the employee ownership space lately. would be good to connect.
Hey Ben, we both ended up in acquisitions from different angles — I came through banking at CS & Greenhill in London into growth equity, not through founding and exiting a company like you. origination was always the same story for me — clear thesis, decent relationships, but no proprietary system of record tying it together. every deal sourced from scratch, nothing compounding over time. curious if that's still how most funds doing succession acquisitions operate or if I'm behind the times? — Russ
Hey Ben, looks like we both ended up in the acquisitions world, though from different directions — I came through IB at CS & Greenhill in London into growth equity, not building a delivery network and exiting to 7-Eleven like you did with Skipcart. the pattern I keep seeing with most funds doing roll-ups or platform acquisitions is weirdly consistent — strong thesis, solid network, but no proprietary system of record. the people, tools and ideas are never really connected. every deal is virtually sourced from scratch, nothing compounds on itself. curious if that resonates with what you're seeing at EquityX or if you've already built something different given the volume of succession deals you're going after? — Russ
hey Ben — no worries if the timing's off. most funds doing platform acquisitions have tried some version of building origination in-house — analyst pulling from Pitchbook or Grata, maybe using ChatGPT to qualify, dumping it into a spreadsheet. each piece kind of works, but there's no system of record tying it together. the people, tools and ideas stay disconnected, so there's tonnes of wasted energy and everything ends up out of sync. been helping a few funds like Mentmore work through that — curious if you've run into the same thing at EquityX? — Russ
totally get it if origination infrastructure isn't top of mind right now — especially with EquityX, JENNi, and Jockey all moving at once. the funds I've seen crack it early just tend to compound deal flow in a way that's hard to replicate later. if it ever moves up the list, I'm easy to find. — Russ
Email Copy
Ben - Saw you're solving the Silver Tsunami through employee ownership at EquityX — and doing it across Texas, California, and Florida. That's a lot of retiring owners to find. Started at Credit Suisse doing tech M&A, then growth equity. Now I build deal sourcing systems for funds acquiring businesses. Custom origination engine around your thesis — connects your CRM, LinkedIn, and email, layers on AI screening and battle-tested outreach logic, books meetings with owners ready to sell. Intelligent automation, not another AI agency. Working with Axiom Equity in the UK and a few US search funds. Worth a quick call? searchloop.ai linkedin.com/in/russellt23
Ben - Most outreach to business owners lands in spam or gets ignored — they're not on LinkedIn like VCs. Proper deliverability infrastructure changes that. With 50,000+ businesses publicly for sale, the bottleneck isn't deal flow — it's getting responses from the right ones. Worth 15 minutes? Russ
Ben - Funds using our system are booking 3-4x more owner conversations than manual outreach. The AI screening filters for businesses that actually match — cash flow, industry, geography. Happy to share what's working for similar acquirers. Russ
Ben - Know you're busy building EquityX and Jockey. If sourcing retiring owners becomes a bottleneck, happy to chat. Russ
Prospect Research
## PROSPECT INFORMATION: Name: Benjamin ("Ben") Jones Title: Chairman of the Board & Cofounder Fund: EquityX Background: Ben Jones is an experienced entrepreneur, investor, and exited founder currently based in San Antonio, Texas, with a significant operational focus in Colombia and Latin America. Current Focus: Ben serves as the CEO of JENNi (started March 2025), a computer software company focused on decentralizing retail fulfillment by turning retail stores into a real-time network. He is also the Chairman of EquityX (started February 2024), a platform addressing the U.S. succession crisis by acquiring small businesses with $3M+ EBITDA and transitioning them into employee-owned companies. Additionally, he is a Managing Partner at Jockey Ventures, a venture studio based in Bogotá, Colombia, that co-founds and funds companies in the energy, fintech, and proptech sectors. Background: Ben was the CEO and Founder of Skipcart, an on-demand delivery network that scaled to hundreds of thousands of locations before exiting to 7-Eleven in July 2022. He has deep roots in the San Antonio startup ecosystem, serving as Chairman of Alamo Angels and a Board Member at Geekdom. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University. Key Skills: Start-up Leadership, Early Stage Ventures, Strategic Planning, M&A, Retail Fulfillment, Operations Management, and Entrepreneurship through Acquisition (ETA). Recent Post Activity: - February 10, 2026: Reshared a post about the "5 errors" families make in business succession, highlighting that "The error #1 is the que duele más: Nunca prepararse para la venta de la empresa." - January 8, 2026: Reshared an Alamo Angels 2025 wrap-up, noting the group invested $3.1M across 16 deals, including participation in "SpaceX, Apptronik, Coop, Nibbles, JENNi and more." - December 31, 2025: Commented on the human element of M&A, stating, "This is why EquityX exists. Company Succession is a leadership problem first—we saw it play out across real acquisitions this year." - November 13, 2025: Shared a Substack article warning of retail collapse: "We’re sleepwalking into the largest retail collapse in U.S. history... local retail doesn’t decline. It disappears." - September 18, 2025: Promoted employee ownership at EquityX, saying, "When employees become owners, businesses stay local, jobs stay secure, and the people who built the company share in the future they’ve created." - September 15, 2025: Discussed the evolution of Alamo Angels, noting they had already deployed $2.3M+ in 2025, "more than double our usual pace." - August 15, 2024: Reflected on the impact of acquisitions, mentioning he "ran the numbers on a $2.5M EBITDA company we’re acquiring, and in 2020 years, the employee owners will earn an additional $10M in income. That’s mind blowing." - August 8, 2024: Discussed the "Silver Tsunami economy," noting EquityX helps retiring owners "without a succession plan" and turns their businesses into "employee-owned companies." - May 8, 2023: Praised AI tools for founders, stating: "AI-generated pitch decks are a great way for founders to accelerate this and build a baseline." Fund details: - Description: EquityX | Transforming Business Succession Through Employee Ownership At EquityX, we are not just a company—we are a movement dedicated to reshaping the American business landscape. Our mission is to empower employees by transitioning small and medium-sized businesses into employee-owned enterprises, ensuring these companies thrive while preserving the legacies of their founders. Our Vision We aim to generate $15 billion in wealth for employees over the next two decades, creating a lasting impact on economic development and reducing wealth inequality. By acquiring businesses with strong leadership and gradually transferring ownership to employees, we ensure continuity, growth, and innovation. What We Do EquityX specializes in acquiring businesses from retiring owners and guiding them through a seamless transition to employee ownership. Our unique model focuses on: • Direct Acquisition: We streamline the process, closing deals swiftly while maintaining the integrity of the business. • Employee Empowerment: We convert employees into stakeholders, giving them equity and a vested interest in the company’s success. • Leadership Integration: Our expert team ensures smooth leadership transitions, supporting new presidents and management teams to drive the business forward. • Legacy Enhancement: We honor and enhance the founder's legacy, ensuring the business continues to grow under employee ownership. Our Focus We target businesses across key industries including Professional Services, Healthcare, Information Technology, and Manufacturing. Our geographic focus includes high-growth states like Texas, California, Florida, and New York - Website: https://equityx.co - Location: San Antonio, Texas, United States - Lead qualification: Research: - Query: =EquityX Benjamin (Ben) Jones recent investments fund thesis - Answer: Benjamin Jones is a director of macro research at Invesco, known for his investment thesis on multi-asset strategies and his work on the Superchain Thesis. He joined Invesco in 2021 after 15 years at State Street Global Markets.